The films of Věra Chytilová

Over the next month the Film Theatre will be presenting a short seasons of films celebrating the work of Věra Chytilová, a pioneer of women’s cinema who denied being a feminist, whose consistent moral vision and innovation, is seen through a body of work focused on women rebelling against a male dominated order.

Thursday 14 May

Daisies

DAISIES (15)
Daisies is the most adventurous and anarchic Czech film of the 1960s, a neo-dadaist farce replete with extravagant visual effects, sensuous décor, and fascinating experiments with colour. Two teenage girls stumble through a series of happenings, exploit middle-aged men, and engage in orgies of eating, interspersed with sun bathing. Full of enthusiasm and joie de vivre, the film mixes social observation, feminist comment, and formal experiment in one exhilarating journey.

Daisies will be introduced by professor of film Peter Hames, author of The Czechoslovak New Wave and Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition and co-editor of Cinemas in Transition in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989.

Thursday 28 May

Fruit of Paradise

FRUIT OF PARADISE (18)
Fruit of Paradise is nominally based on the story of a murderer, with the characters symbolising Adam, Eve and the devil, against a background of the Garden of Eden. In a contemporary narrative, Eva seeks a comprehension of truth, an engaging undertaking that the film extends to its audience.
In Chytilová’s most experimental work, music, cinematography and design combine in a unique celebration of form.
Czechoslovakia (subtitled), 1970, 95 mins

Fruit of Paradise will be introduced by professor of film Peter Hames, author of The Czechoslovak New Wave and Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition and co-editor of Cinemas in Transition in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989.

Tuesday 2 June

Prefab Story

PREFAB STORY
Prefab Story is Chytilová’s multi-level portrayal of contemporary life, a blunt and aggressive confrontation with the ‘normalised’ society in which she lived. Set against the background of a high-rise estate, the film examines the nature of contemporary morality and materialist preoccupations. One of the few genuinely critical works of its time, Prefab Story received limited release and was denied international exposure.
Czechoslovakia (subtitled), 1979, 96 mins

Prefab Story will be introduced by professor of film Peter Hames, author of The Czechoslovak New Wave and Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition and co-editor of Cinemas in Transition in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989.

This season of films has been supported by the Czech Centre, Czech National Archive, the Film Hub NWC and the BFI